Barbs 'hiding' at the bottom of tank..?

[Marty]

something weird is happening.. for the past 2 days now my barbs have been staying low in the tank and hiding in the plants and caves and barrels.. whereas for the past 6 weeks before that they were all crazy happy, swimming around.

They still coming rushing up for food and when i go near the tank they come to the front to see me..and the water levels are perfect... Any thoughts?

[thrakuarium]

This is the 10g barb tank I'm assuming. It could be noises in the house are startling them or there might be a tank bully issue forming. When they come up to eat do they immediately go back and hide? Does it look like they avoid a certain fish or 2 when eating?

[Oscar_freak12321]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. If they are still acting healthy and eating ok, then this shouldn't be a problem.

[mommy1]

have you tested for ammonia lately. as long as the water quality is good and they are eating i wouldnt worry about it. they may have just found a happy place.

[Marty]

This is the 10g barb tank I'm assuming. It could be noises in the house are startling them or there might be a tank bully issue forming. When they come up to eat do they immediately go back and hide? Does it look like they avoid a certain fish or 2 when eating?
Yes the 10g tank. House noises haven't changed really. We live in an 3-bed apartment and the house temp is pretty stable, the noise from the road is not really noticeable even with the patio doors open.

They dont avoid each other when eating, they like to scramble around a little.
They do go back to hiding after eating, but they all huddle together.

Just done a fresh water test:
GG - 60 / KH - 80 / PH - between 6.5-7.0 / Nitrite - 0 / Nitrate - 80

So the nitrates are a little high, even though i did a 20% water change yesterday.
Beside water changes, what is the best way to reduce the nitrates?


have you tested for ammonia lately. as long as the water quality is good and they are eating i wouldnt worry about it. they may have just found a happy place.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. If they are still acting healthy and eating ok, then this shouldn't be a problem.

:( i have been enjoying them swim all over the tank and playing.

[mommy1]

the nitrates could be bothering them. its way to high, the only way to really get rid of them is water changes. do at least 50% of the water in your tank. they need to be brought down to 20ppm or less.
you didnt give an ammonia reading, are you using test strips or liquid testers.

[Marty]

the test strips.

Edit: and the tub says the nitrates need to be about 40. is that too high too then?

[mommy1]

yes 40 is too high. if you change half the water today and half the water tomorrow you should be ok for a couple of days. how often do you normally change water out of your tank. and how much do you normally change.
i suggest you get the liquid testers since they are far more accurate for reading the levels of ammonia/nitrite/nitrate in your tank.

[Marty]

I normally do all my tanks every sunday and take out about 25%. That is after the normal evaporation.

I got the test strips because i find it easier to see the colours (i am colour blind) and its cheaper.

I just did a test on my 37g and am now in a panic, as the nitrates have jumped to 80.. we had to move the tank about 4 days ago now but tested the past couple days and they were fine.. all of a sudden a spike! (best for another thread i suppose)

I will do a 50% on the barb tank now and then again in 24 hours.

[mommy1]

since your nitrates are so high, like i said earlier do a water change today and tomorrow, then i would step them up to 30-40% twice a week.
also they do make an ammonia test strip as well.

[Marty]

will that have to be all the time from now on, or until they are stabilized?

[mommy1]

how long have these tanks been running and have they been cycled. until they are stabilized. test the tank(s) everyday (this is why the liquid testers are cheaper in the long run). when your readings are consistantly 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 10-20 nitrate, you can reduce the changes to once a week. i test my tank twice a week, and do a 30% water change once a week.

[Marty]

these tanks were cycled before we added any of our fish, we just used feeder fish to cycle, and have been running now for about 3 months in total. We havent had no problems literally until a couple days ago. I just dont get it.

On a seperate note..
We just tested our tap water... would you believe it just tested Perfect on our test trip.. nitrates 0, nitrites 0, gH 30, kH 0, pH 7.0.

We added the conditioner and the results is nitrates 0, nitrites 0, gH 30, kH 40, pH 7.5

[mommy1]

glad you cycled the tanks.
what conditioner are you using? thats interesting.
since your tanks were cycled i think the problem with the nitrates is just a matter of not enough water being changed each week. which brings me back to my original advice of change 50% of the water today and tomorrow then test everyday and when things settle down change 30-40% of the water at least once a week.

[Marty]

Aye will do that.. i do appreciate your advice (rep added)
We are using a brand called AquaSafe, by TestraAqua.

Get this... we turned the lights off on all our tanks for the evening.. and the barbs are back to being active again!!
The lights normally go on about 9am, and then off about 9pm.

[mommy1]

thanks for the rep!
they are probably much happier with their water now too.
good luck with them and keep us posted.

[Marty]

I havent done the water change just yet :p

[mommy1]

O.i.c.....

[OscarFan]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but a 10g is way to small for Tiger barbs. Barbs tend to hug the lower part of the tank when stressed. If you add lots of bushy plants(live is better) it would help.

[pazbich3]

10 barbs is a bit much for a 10 gal. (If you do the inch/gal rule that equates to about 25 gals) This might explain the higher levels of nitrates in your tank..more waste etc. Make sure they have plenty of room in the tank to swim around as they are an active fish. More frequent water changes will help with your levels. I have a 29gal tank with 10+ barbs and do water changes TWICE a week.

[jaysee]

Marty - you have 10 tiger barbs in a 10G tank?

[Marty]

Marty - you have 10 tiger barbs in a 10G tank?
I do, they are fairly small right now.

After a 50% water change last night, they are back to being active again today. At work right now so will do another change later and then test tomorrow.

[jaysee]

I had kept my 6 in a 10G. I bought them tiny and had a lot of plants in the tank, but they QUICKLY outgrew the tank. Everything was fine, then the dominant male just assumed control of the tank one day. I had 2 fish hiding behind the heater, one behind the filter intake, one behind the filter lip, and one behind the seachem ammonia alert. They either were in hiding or were forced to stay at the surface. The smallest male had his fins nipped and looked beat up, at which point I aquired the 30G. Since moving them, the dominant male occasionally forces the others to the surface. They are much happier and the little male's fins have grown back. I think they're gonna like the 29G better though.